Giving Back: Free Wedding

At church today, the message was about giving, and one thing that really stuck out in my mind was that often God will tell us to give and we will reason our way out of it. We'll think it wasn't really God talking to us, or there is no way we could give that.

Anyway, I felt that God told me to give. So I'm not going to really think about it or question it.

If you are in need of a wedding photographer this summer and you have a special need, please contact me.

Again, I'm not going to think too much about this. I'm just going to trust God with it. He can make amazing things happen.

Holland Wedding

A week ago we shot Allison's wedding in Fayetteville and it was a great time. I got to hang out with some of the goofiest (in a good way) girls and some laid back but funny guys. It was interesting to see how different the two groups were. The girls were bouncing off the walls and the guys were just calm and collected.
Part of the fun was the room the ladies got ready in. It was a nursery for the church, and it was loaded with interesting things. I was kind of jealous because I don't remember having such cool things when I was little. They had all of these plastic cars and boats they could ride in, so of course, we made the girls get on them. There was also this very detailed train track with animals. We always try to find a unique place to do ring shots; is there anything more unique than a giraffe popping out of a train?

To end the night, the boys ran off and totally destroyed the bride and groom's ride. They wrote all over it and wrapped the doors shut. That probably wasn't the nicest thing to do, but it sure was a blast to watch.

Allison and Eli made a beautiful exit with the lights of the town center illuminating their way and their closest friends and family cheering and blowing bubbles. It was a great end to a wonderful day.

Oh so busy...

I've been really swamped the last few weeks. First, we shot a wonderful wedding in Eureka Springs for Becky and Russell. What a great group of people we met. They were so much fun and kind. The best part of the wedding was the garter. Becky had a little surprise set up for Russell. When Russell reached in and removed
the garter, to his surprise, a pair of panties came with it. Let's just say he was shocked. The girls had shown me earlier how they tied the panties to the garter, so I was expecting it. Very funny.

The next day, we shot bridal portraits for our friend Jennifer. Unfortunately, I can't post any of these pictures until after June 5th. In my opinion, they are some of the best pictures we have taken.

Last Sunday, we took pictures of little Jenna. She was a fireball. She was flopping around and making silly faces. I was worried we weren't going to get any good pictures until my wife showed her superior doctor intellect. She started distracting Jenna by asking her questions: what's your favorite color, what number am I holding up...etc. This worked perfectly. Jenna stopped worrying about me and had some great expressions. Way to go Ashley.

It has been a fun two weeks. The shooting was great, now I just have to get to editing all of the pictures.

The most beautiful woman in the world

I was lucky enough a few weeks ago to get to shoot an awesome model, my wife.

After reading and watching tutorials, I always get an itch to shoot and try new things. Of course, I then try to shoot my in house model. Most of the time, though, Ashley tells me to stop. She listens a lot better than my dogs, so usually this leaves me with no one.

I finally got her to do some modeling. Hopefully after seeing these, she will be more likely to work with me.

This is a new technique I read about. It is a high key beauty shot. It creates a perfectly white background while illuminating the sides of the model's body and cheeks, almost like they are glowing.

I was instructed to say that Ashely is not topless. The shot works better with bare skin, so she just pulled the straps on her shirt out of view.

I'm going to be trying some new looks and techniques soon, so come back soon to see what's going on.

Wanna get in shape for your wedding?

There are many important events in your life, but one of the biggest will be your wedding. Especially for woman, you want to look good at the wedding. Brides always want to lose a few extra pounds so they will look good in their dress.

I know this is a photography blog, but I am also big into health. Because so many brides do want to lose weight, I thought I would share my advice on the subject.

I personally believe there is a program out there that can help anyone lose weight. If you watch a lot of infomercials, I'm sure you have seen it; of course I am talking about P90x.

I've gone through this program at least 2 times now, and it has gotten me in the best shape of my life. Whenever I stop doing the program and continue working out with another program, I notice that I start getting soft. There really is nothing like it.

About a year ago, a close friend of mine got engaged, and he wanted to lose some pounds. I told him about P90x. I think he ended up losing around 25 pounds, and that was without him being strict on his diet.

If you are interested in this program, I would suggest Googling it for reviews. You will hear nothing but rave reviews.

You can buy the program from Beachbody.com or now buy it locally at Your Total Fitness Shop. YTFS just got them, and they are selling quickly. The good thing about buying it from YTFS is that you get it that day and don't have to wait for shipping. You also get it cheaper because you don't have to pay for shipping.

Yes, it is a hard program. Yes, you will be sore and tired. But more importantly, yes, you will get in the best shape of your life for your wedding. As Tony always says, "Bring it."

Walker Maternity

It's really strange how I have progressed and changed throughout my photography life. I started off as a sports shooter, and that's all I did. In my mind, that's all there really was to shoot. When people asked me about weddings, my initial thought was no way. Ha, now look at me. I never shoot sports anymore and the only thing I can think about is weddings.

This last weekend we shot something we have never shot before: maternity.

We met with Amanda and Brandon and had tons of fun. I've known Amanda since 7th grade, so it was great to get to interact with her during this exciting time in her life.

We shot at three

different locations: Dickson Street, some woods near my house, and in my house. I feel that all three locations worked great for us, which taught me something. It's not so much the location that's important, it's the people involved and the emotions being expressed. We didn't have to go to some exotic location to get great shots; some of these were done on a street, some right by my house, and the others in my living room.

At my house, I was really excited about some lighting techniques I was able to try out. It kind of made me want to build a studio, but I'm pretty sure Ashley won't allow that.

Overall, it was a great day, and now I have something new to daydream about shooting.

Karen and Daniel Engagement Pictures

I think I enjoy engagement pictures the most out of any type of pictures we do. It is the first time we really meet the couple, so we learn all about them. We get to ask about their jobs, interests, and most importantly their dogs (Ashley and I love dogs). Another great thing is that we aren't rushed for time. We can walk, chat, and try new things. With Karen and Daniel, we explored the U of A campus and found a place we didn't now existed. Up by the bus area, there is a little cement pond with giant gold fish. When we saw them, we knew we wanted to get them in the picture. Unfortunately, the fish didn't like us. Whenever we moved toward them, they would swim to the other side. Good thing for us, Ashley is a genius. We positioned Karen and Daniel on one side, and Ashley ran to the other and clapped and shouted at the fish until they swam away from her and toward the couple. We timed it perfectly and got a pretty neat shot with a dozen or so fish.

In this shoot, I also tried out some new flash techniques I have been reading about. That's whats great about photography: you can always learn something new and try something different. I am constantly striving to learn new things or shoot something in a different way. It never really gets boring.